Botswana
Botswana is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, largely attributable to her wealth in diamonds and minerals and can be considered to be Africa's most enduringly stable democratic country since she gained Independence from Britain in 1966. She is one of Africa’s crown jewels, representing extreme contrasts of wet and dry – the Kalahari Desert and the Okavango Delta. She is one of Africa’s finest safari destinations and home to some of the most lavishly comfortable lodges and camps on the continent.
Botswana’s greatest attraction is the seasonally flooded Okavango Delta, one of the largest inland Delta's in the world, a 7000 square mile oasis of papyrus reed beds, rivers, lagoons and palm fringed islands that are home to a myriad of birds and animals. The majority of camps and lodges in the delta are located on large private concessions and are accessible only by light aircraft. Tourism development is strictly regulated and guest numbers are limited in small ecologically sensitive camps and lodges thus minimising their impact on the fragile ecosystems in which they exist. Tourism is said to employ 45% of all the population living in northern Botswana.
To the north of the Delta lie the Chobe and Linyanti Rivers, famous for their large numbers of elephant (and elephant eating lions!) whilst to the south lie the unremitting expanses of the Makgadikgadi and Nxai salt pans where visitors are privy to massive Zebra migrations during the rains. Other highlights include the endless dunes of the Kalahari, home to the Bushmen people and the Tsodilo Hills where 4500 rock paintings form a unique record of human settlement over many millennia.
Owing to the limited numbers of guests in small exclusive lodges, Botswana remains one of the most un-spoilt and exclusive safari experiences to be found anywhere in Africa and a visit the delta, whilst costly, is a huge privilege.